ISLAMABAD, Nov 2: The Supreme Court will hear next week a petition challenging the controversial Sindh Local Government Act adopted by the Sindh Assembly last month.

Notices have been issued to the Attorney General and Sindh Advocate General to appear before the Court on Nove 8 to explain their position. The petition seeking the court to declare the law as illegal, unconstitutional and unlawful was filed by Barrister Zamir Hussain Ghumro of the Sindh Bachayo Committee.

The opposition to the law began soon after promulgation of the ordinance by Sindh governor and was criticised by the opposition and some in the ruling coalition. The PML-N had described the law as a conspiracy to divide Sindh while Awami National Party also rejected it. The law was, however, passed in a stormy session when both Pakistan People’s Party and the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, which enjoy a comfortable majority, voted for it.

Nationalist parties in Sindh vociferously opposed the legislation. Public meetings and processions were organised by both critics and supporters of the law in Sindh.

In his petition, Barrister Ghmro has pleaded that dozens of sections of the law, Schedule 1 and its parts from A to W were wholly or partly in clear conflict with Articles 2, 5, 9, 25, 97, 129, 130, 137, 142 and 175 of the Constitution. Pointing out that these and other constitutional provisions could not be severed, he prayed to the court to either declare the whole law ultra vires of the Constitution or alternatively declare these sections as illegal and void.

The court has also been requested to declare that towns could not be created outside the boundaries of revenue divisions, no new police districts could be created on the basis of towns in metropolitan corporations and provincial subjects and executive authority of other departments under schedule 1 could not be transferred to the department of local government or any local body.

The petitioner also prayed to the court to stop the Sindh government from transferring provincial government departments in schedule 1 of the Act including their assets and resources to metropolitan corporations, district councils, taluka and town municipal administrations and union councils till the final adjudication of the petition.

The court was also asked to restrain the Sindh government from allowing the local government bodies or metropolitan corporations from creating community police, watch and ward police or any other militia, office or department under section 14 of the impugned act. The court has been prayed to suspend the operation of the Act till final adjudication of the petition.